Volcanic repeater
|weight= |justweight= |width= |height= |magazine= *Rifle: 20 – 30-round tube magazine *Pistol: 6 – 10-round tube magazine |cycle= |minrange= |effective= |range= |alt= |usedby= |velocity= }}Volcanic repeater is a term that incorporates the Volcanic rifle and the related Volcanic pistol. These were a short-lived series of American repeating firearms produced from 1855 to 1856 by the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. The direct ancestor to the Henry rifle, the Volcanic guns were an attempt to solve the problems with needle rifles; while a sound concept, the guns were not commercially successful and led the Volcanic company to its demise.http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/history.htm History Based on the Volition repeatier designed by Walter Hunt in 1848, the Volcanic guns were designed and patented in 1854 as an attempt to solve the problems with needle guns, along with allowing Hunt to develop his rocket ball ammunition further. The weapon began production in 1855. When in production, the weapon was one of the most innovative weapons for its time; it had a very high rate of fire, a higher capacity compared to its contemporaries and its waterproof ammunition.https://www.burkegalleryguns.com/1854-volcanic-pistol However, the weapon had some shortcomings: the weapon was prone to gas leakage around the breech, multiple misfires and malfunctions and most notably, its rocket ball ammunition being grossly underpowered when compared to its contemporaries, with muzzle energy at a rather unimpressive . The pistol versions were also bulky and difficult to operate without using both hands. This was likely the final nail in the Volcanic's coffin as the company was led to insolvency in August 1856. The Volcanic lever action was patented February 14, 1854 by Smith and Wesson (US patent 10,535). Firearms based on the patent were manufactured by Smith & Wesson, Volcanic Repeating Arms, and New Haven Arms until 1860. Perhaps more important than the weapons themselves were the connections the company created. Jennings Rifle Company had Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson working for them. This led to the partnership of Smith and Wesson a year later in 1854, and their work at perfecting the concept of the Volcanic Ball led to patenting a copper-cased rimfire cartridge design on August 8th 1854 (US Patent 11,496), and development of the first cartridge revolver following the expiration of Samuel Colt's revolver mechanism patent in 1856 and their coming to an arrangement with Rollin White, who held a patent for bored-through revolver cylinders. Oliver Winchester, one of the company's investors, effectively dissolved the Volcanic Repeating Arms company in 1857, later relaunching the company as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Volcanic Repeater mechanism was heavily influential on Benjamin Tyler Henry's Henry 1860 rifle and by extension Winchester's classic lever-action rifles, such as the Winchester Model 1866 "Yellow Boy". Two of the world's largest gun companies exist because of this collaboration. Design Details The Volcanic incorporates a toggle-link bolt which operates like a knee joint. This knee joint is flexed when the lever is pulled down, pulling the bolt back and pulling a fresh round from the tube magazine and into the ejection port; the action is then closed by pushing the lever back into position. After the weapon fires, pulling the lever again causes the cartridge carrier to move up, aligning a fresh cartridge with the barrel; the weapon has no means of extraction. Misfired rounds had to be tapped out manually using a cleaning rod due to this.https://www.guns.com/news/2011/04/19/the-case-for-caselessness-the-volcanic-rifle Loading the weapon involved pushing the follower forward and turning it slightly to lock it, then pivoting the front part of the barrel out of the way, dropping rounds into the magazine tube and then pivoting the front part of the barrel back when the weapon was full and releasing the follower. This loading style would be adopted in the later Henry rifle. Ammunition The Volcanics used .31 or .41 caliber Volcanic balls. Variants The Volcanics were manufactured in rifle and pistol variants, as follows: References Category:Rifles Category:Lever-action rifles Category:Repeating rifles